Joseph Germanotta, to whom the singer dedicated a song at a concert earlier this year, passed away on Friday.
By James Dinh
Lady Gaga
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage
Lady Gaga's grandfather, Joseph Germanotta, died on Friday at the age of 88. Germanotta reportedly suffered a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
On Sunday, Gaga remembered her late grandfather via Twitter, writing, "Having a Perfect Manhattan, for my perfect guy. Love you Giuseppe." ("Giuseppe" is the Italian name for Joseph.)
According to an obituary at NJ.com, Germanotta was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, before relocating to other cities in the Garden State including Elizabeth and Montville. He was a World War II veteran and also worked as a self-employed businessman. Gaga was reportedly spotted just two days prior to his death visiting him at a nursing home in New Jersey.
Instead of flowers, the Germanotta family is accepting donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research as well as the St. Pius X Church in Montville.
In May, Lady Gaga opened up to fans about her then sick grandfather during her Monster Ball Tour show in Nottingham, England. "I don't always talk about my personal life but my grandpa's sick," she revealed. "And I'm really close with my grandpa and he's really sick and he's in the States and my dad's with him. So I was, like, crying all day, really sad. So I thought I might just be honest and tell you that's what's going on."
But in true Gaga fashion, the singer put her emotions into her music by dedicating her ballad "Speechless" to Germanotta. "So it's been one of those tough things that my grandpa's too old to come to my show, but I suppose if we sing loud enough, he'll be able to hear us. So this one's for you Grandpa," she said after breaking down in tears.
Express your words of sympathy for Lady Gaga and her family in the comments.
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Bieber mans the piano and chills with a lady friend in new clip.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
Justin Bieber
Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images
Justin Bieber fans have plenty to grin about now that the teen superstar's latest video is here. Bieber's "U Smile" clip premiered on Thursday (September 30) and features the Canadian sensation indulging in something he probably doesn't get a lot of these days: privacy.
The clip begins in black-and-white (and later incorporates scenes of color) as the "Somebody to Love" singer is approached by a crew of cheery tween fans who ask to snap a pic with the Biebs. The singer, of course, obliges and invites one of the lucky ladies out for a rendezvous later that evening. The two sneak into an empty theater and have lots of moments of PG intimacy, holding hands, horsing around on the theater's seats, sliding down banisters and making each other giggle. They wrap up the date with a playful back-alley water fight and collapse into each other's arms.
Bieber has said the video is about letting fans experience the ultimate fantasy for any hard-core Belieber: being Justin's girlfriend.
"I took the opportunity 2 make a video 4 the fans, about a fan, and how we could fall IN LOVE," he tweeted about the clip. "Love Grows. #LoveGrows."
Hit visuals like "Baby" and "One Time" show off the teen idol's footwork and peppy teenage swagger, but "U Smile" suggests a more mature Bieber, who appears to relish the quiet moments with his gal pal away from the nonstop fan hysteria. The clip also displays his skills as an instrumentalist, as he belts out the lyrics from behind a grand piano throughout much of the vid.
"It really is a throwback to the great records I listened to growing up," Bieber tweeted about the track earlier this year. "I wrote it for all my fans who got me here."
What do you think of Justin Bieber's "U Smile" video? Sound off in the comments!
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'She's exactly what we need right now,' Judas Priest frontman says, comparing Gaga to Madonna and praising her activism.
By Jon Wiederhorn
Lady Gaga
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Rob Halford, a.k.a. the Metal God, fronts one of the most influential heavy-metal bands on the scene. Along with his Judas Priest bandmates, the leather-favoring singer spends most of his time on the road fraternizing with metal legends like Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe and Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. Halford even runs a clothing line that specializes in badass-looking T-shirts. But what fans might not know is that he also keeps a finger on the pulse of the pop world, and one of his latest heroes is Lady Gaga.
"She's exactly what we need right now in that area of music," Halford told MTV News. "There has been a vacuum that's been created in that area as the wonderful Saint Madonna has gotten older, and we really need somebody like Lady Gaga to shake things up again."
Halford said he admires Lady Gaga's irreverence, but also her colorful fashion sense ("That costume of meat she wore at the MTV Music Awards was just fantastic"), her outspokenness and her willingness to deliver politically charged messages. He was especially moved by Gaga's speech at a Portland, Maine, rally organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network as part of the movement to repeal the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"I thought that was very admirable," Halford said. "Madonna went a little bit in the activist vein, but she did that later on in her career. What you're finding in Lady Gaga, I feel, is a microcosm of the speed of life we're living in now. Things happen so quickly. She took off like a rocket. [Interscope Chairman] Jimmy Iovine put the whole label behind her and wrote the checks for those multimillion-dollar videos because he has this incredible foresight, and it was absolutely the right move. She's incredible and provocative and I admire her as the person she is and all the great things she does."
Still, like many Gaga fans, he's occasionally surprised by his pop heroine. Halford, whose Halford IV — Made of Metal hit stores this week, admitted he was somewhat taken aback by the 'Fame" singer's wardrobe choice in Maine. The Lady wore a conservative blue pantsuit, white collared shirt and patterned men's tie, but what really caught Halford's attention were Gaga's massively oversize Coke-bottle glasses.
"I don't know if she's got really bad eyesight or if it was just another moment," Halford said. "But I love that she believes all people are beautiful, which they are. How dare you call somebody ugly. That's just abhorrent to me. She sends this message out to her fans and the world that's really positive and I just wish her a long life, which is going to be difficult in today's speed-of-light culture."
Are you surprised that metal head Rob Halford is a "little monster"? Tell us in the comments!
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